Nice New KOF2002 Impressions

Originally posted by some KOFCartel dude:
<strong>The Terry infinite in the Beta was removed, as the move itself that leads to the infinite was removed, the Power Charge.
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WTF?

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On a side note, they took out a lot or all of OTG (on the ground) moves. This may kill some extra game play feature, but it does eliminate a lot of infinite potentials.

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can someone explain this to me please?

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Originally posted by k'_127:
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can someone explain this to me please?</strong><hr></blockquote>

You can no longer attack unless you are flying in BIRD MODE which requires 2 power stocks!

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Originally posted by Cole:
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You can no longer attack unless you are flying in BIRD MODE which requires 2 power stocks!</strong><hr></blockquote>

this made me spit my diet coke out, i swear to god.

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Originally posted by Highlander67:
<strong>Hey Ray I think I may know of a place that is getting it in a week.</strong><hr></blockquote>



Where??????????

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If you see Ramon HSDM for the first time, I bet you that you will laugh like a bitch for quite some time <hr></blockquote>

this is killing me. I want to see what does he do

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Originally posted by k'_127:
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this is killing me. I want to see what does he do </strong><hr></blockquote>

Don't worry K'127, if my local arcade has 2002 (which I'm pretty sure they BETTER have), I'll be sure to tell you and everyone else about how all of the HSDMs look sometime today! <img src="graemlins/tickled.gif" border="0" alt="[Tickled]" /> :big grin:

And now...

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: The True Warrior ]</p>

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Originally posted by Kid Aphex:
<strong>Honestly.
I don't think I've wanted a game this bad in a long time. I'm begining to go insane. Too bad no arcades in PHX have ANY neo geo cabs. At least I could get a fix.

Maybe I should drive to Cali for a quick game or two


peace,
ray</strong><hr></blockquote>

Come on out... I go back in forth to Phoenix often, I will actually be there next month... You should pop in over here, Golfland will blow you away... great Japanese style arcade with very non-standard games. Even has a Ultracade with tons of classics!

-Nick

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GAME PLAY
This is the biggest and most fascinating thing about KOF2002. In the first two hours of playing the game, it literally screams PERFECT BALANCE at me. However, it is only after at least a year that we can truly rate the balance of the game. But after the first two hours, I could not find anything over-powered or cheesy. Maybe they have not been exploited yet? If the Beta testers are not complaining after their prolonged period of playing 2002, there will be hardly any bad exploitation of cheapness that affects the balance in the future. No infinites nor glitches were found as of yet. The Terry infinite in the Beta was removed, as the move itself that leads to the infinite was removed, the Power Charge.

Now, how did I conclude with only two hours of game play that 2002 is perfectly balanced? One of the main reason is that Brezzasoft, the developer, along with Eolith took their precious time to balance the game. This is very noticeable even on the most little of detail. Almost every moves that were over-powered in previous years were toned down. And almost every moves that were either useless or under-powered in previous years are now useful and toned up. Hence, moves and character balance moved to the equilibrium in 2002. One of the changes that I wished for but knowed that it will never be changed has been changed in 2002! Yes, my gripe about the most powerful jump attack in the game has been toned down, to my surprise. Benimaru's Jump D, the best jump attack in almost all previous KOF games, has been toned down, making the attack much harder to crossup with. To name another, Athena's air super is now useful as it does hella tick damage but is also safe if blocked, unlike before where it is punishable despite it connecting or not. Anti-air moves like your typical Dragon Punch motion (DP) moves are toned up with a little more priority. In compensation to offense, hops/jumps and jump attacks are faster.
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FINALLY!!! A good reason do use Kyo's Oniyaki again!

Does this mean that K', Iori, and K9999 have more air priority over jumpers with their anti-air moves?

Does the game play of 2002 feel like 1998? Hardly. If anything, the game play of KOF2002 is closest to 2001 than any other series simply for the fact that most characters are from that game. However, KOF2002 feels much much different than any other KOF series. The timing and speed has been altered to a significant level that it does not resemble any other KOF series. The overall speed of the game is much faster in terms of moves execution. Light attacks now gives you less time to buffer into another light attack or a special move. This means that doing combos require much more speed. This can either be good or bad depending on your combo capabilities. This and the fact that almost all character moves in previous games are altered in one way or another makes the game feel weird and different. This is what I mean by KOF2002 having a different feel to it. For example, if you are the unfortunate ones to have played Vanessa, K9999, and Angel in previous years like I have, then you will understand this completely. Angel being the most changed game-play-wise, cannot be played in the same manner as in 2001 because most of her moves were altered. It is exactly like learning a new character. However, don't just think that Angel is the only character that were changed, almost all characters were changed in some way that will significantly affect your overall game play, even the most unexpected ones, e.g. Orochi Yashiro. Having all your normal moves changed as in the case of Yashiro means everything. It's like saying if Ralf were to lose his Far C and Low C.
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So basically, KOF 2002 is KOF 1998 on speed. <img src="graemlins/mrt2.gif" border="0" alt="[Mr T]" />

Character moves and virtually ALL the technical stuff from '98 and '01 have been sped up to keep the game exciting and non-sluggish. Great! <img src="graemlins/multi.gif" border="0" alt="[Multi Color Bouncey]" />

But Yashiro's normal moves have been changed!!! <img src="graemlins/ohno.gif" border="0" alt="[Oh No]" /> He my have lost SOOOOOO much priority because of that! Damnit... (In case you didn't know, Yashiro's standing A and B had near anti-air properties, which made his even better than he should have been!) <img src="graemlins/eek2.gif" border="0" alt="[Eek 2]" />

I mean, Yashiro was a beautiful range-style fighter who was able to stop most special attacks up close (like Leona) with his normals...I just hope he's somewhat the same as '98.

As we all know, the new BC power bursting mode is the new system to the game (requires one stock). If anything, this mode will be the prime reason for anything that makes the game unbalanced in the future. If any BC over-powered combos or infinites are discovered in the future, it might just ruin the game. However, be aware that the BC power mode is not all that it seems to be. You can cancel specials to another special, but all damages are decreased if you are in the mode, and only four to five cancels can be executed. Its usefulness will later be discovered, but for now it is just a preliminary step in being able to perform SDM's.
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I have now heard it all: KOF meets Street Fighter Alpha 2!

The Special Move cancel ability is virtually a Custom Combo-type of option! I mean, you can cancel up to five special moves, possibly in succession, to where you can do a near 10-hit combo AND STILL JUGGLE WITH A DM/SDM/HSDM! <img src="graemlins/drool2.gif" border="0" alt="[Drool 2]" />

But if you're like me, you can already see the HUGE problem with that, if it's used in-correctly (i.e. non-tactical purposes).

If anyone that gets a chance to play 2002, I recommend you doing all the Hidden SDM's (HSDM) for sheer eye-candy. If anyone thinks that Yamazaki's Hidden SDM is crazy, you ain't seeing nothing yet. People watching the game laughed for 10 minutes when seeing Ramon's HSDM and Billy's HSDM. And Kula HSDM where she gang raped her opponents with her NEST buddies is something to look for, as I myself have not seen the finisher to it but only the startup when connected. This is the same thing with Takuma's Counter HSDM where he grapples his opponent to the ground, awaiting for a finisher. Good looking super moves that left after '98 is now reborn again with 100 times more eye-candy factor. If you see Ramon HSDM for the first time, I bet you that you will laugh like a bitch for quite some time. The aesthetic factor on these HSDM are great but the moves themselves are powerful (70% plus damage) and useful as well. So there is a likely-hood that you will see it quite often, especially Robert's unblockable HSDM, theoretically speaking. But do understand, in order to perform HSDM you must be low in life (at most about 1/4) as opposed to a regular SDM.
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Oh no... <img src="graemlins/ohno.gif" border="0" alt="[Oh No]" /> That's NOT good! I can already see "UNBALANCED" in '02!

If you're facing an opponent with about 1/4 of their life and you are at 100% life, then if your opponent is wily enough, he/she could LITERALLY take you out in ONE combo!

If your or your opponent manage to utilize the Special Move cancel, then it would theoretically be possible to cancel 3-5 special moves into an HSDM...THEREBY KILLING YOU/YOUR OPPONENT NO MATTER HOW MUCH ENEGERY/LIFE THEY HAVE LEFT!!!

Oh no...unbalance is looming its ugly head over KOF 2002....

I'm gonna try it out an try to prove my hypothesis about the HSDMs, but hopefully, I'm wrong about this new aspect of the game.

That's all I have to say for now.

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: The True Warrior ]</p>

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Originally posted by k'_127:
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can someone explain this to me please?</strong><hr></blockquote>

A move that can hit someone lieing on the ground, like Whips Crouching A.

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Originally posted by k'_127:
<strong>everyone keep talken about the balance, it's like if KOF 2001 wasn't balanced enough. sorry guys, if you call that unbalanced, I call it deep.
if the Max Mode wasn't fun in 2002 (I have a feeling it won't be) I will be really dissapointed </strong><hr></blockquote>

You're kiddin me?

The Max Mode will allow you to do some crazy combos that can take out your opp in ONE go man, you know the one that ended with HSDM!

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